It may have taken a while, but our law enforcement officers gave us a flicker of hope this week when they arrested businessman Iqbal Sharma and seized properties and other assets belonging to him, the Gupta brothers and their acolytes. But just as hope was given, it was almost instantaneously taken away. This time, not because of anything the officers mismanaged, but because of what our esteemed representatives of the people did.

But first we must acknowledge the significance of the corruption cleanup. Seizing the Gupta family home colloquially known as the Saxonwold Shebeen, is an important step in the country's fight against corruption and state capture. The house, much like the publicly funded homestead in Nkandla, stands as a monument to eye-watering acts of corruption. It is from here that much of the planning and execution of capture took place. This was a citadel of the defiling of our sovereignty...